Residents appeal MCPS boundary changes, challenge legality of diversity focus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Once you look up the racial compositions in these schools and the final results, you will see that the Superintendent's final plan increased Hispanic and African American populations and decreased white and Asian American populations in Rocky Hill MS, and he decreased Hispanic and African American populations and increased white and Asian American populations in Neelsville MS. MCPS's numbers clearly show that. In effect, he moved Hispanic and African American students from Neelsville MS to Rocky Hill MS and white and Asian American students the other way. This is racial balancing.

No, that's not the effect.

Do you think that there aren't any Hispanic or African-American students at Gibbs or living in Cabin Branch? Take a look at the percentages. Indeed, the appeal specifically mentions that the schools the students were zoned for, before the reassignment, were diverse.

The way you're talking, you're just wiping Hispanic & African-American students from Milestone and Cabin Branch out of existence, along with white and Asian-American students from Daly and Fox Chapel. Why are you doing that?

The effect is: According to MCPS's numbers, the Superintendent's final plan increased Hispanic and African American populations and decreased white and Asian American populations in Rocky Hill MS, and he decreased Hispanic and African American populations and increased white and Asian American populations in Neelsville MS.

Yes, that's one effect of the boundary change.

Was it "racial rebalancing"? Nope.

Are students getting rezoned based on their race? Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich people who fight redistricting deserve to have the boundaries of their school doubled and then all the poor kids bussed in.

Um. PP. Kids from low-income families are not punishment for affluent people.

If you're trying to help - you're not helping.

If you're trolling - stop trolling.

they certainly act like it is punishment....

Yes, they do. That doesn't mean that you have to. So don't.

I don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Once you look up the racial compositions in these schools and the final results, you will see that the Superintendent's final plan increased Hispanic and African American populations and decreased white and Asian American populations in Rocky Hill MS, and he decreased Hispanic and African American populations and increased white and Asian American populations in Neelsville MS. MCPS's numbers clearly show that. In effect, he moved Hispanic and African American students from Neelsville MS to Rocky Hill MS and white and Asian American students the other way. This is racial balancing.

No, that's not the effect.

Do you think that there aren't any Hispanic or African-American students at Gibbs or living in Cabin Branch? Take a look at the percentages. Indeed, the appeal specifically mentions that the schools the students were zoned for, before the reassignment, were diverse.

The way you're talking, you're just wiping Hispanic & African-American students from Milestone and Cabin Branch out of existence, along with white and Asian-American students from Daly and Fox Chapel. Why are you doing that?

The effect is: According to MCPS's numbers, the Superintendent's final plan increased Hispanic and African American populations and decreased white and Asian American populations in Rocky Hill MS, and he decreased Hispanic and African American populations and increased white and Asian American populations in Neelsville MS.

Yes, that's one effect of the boundary change.

Was it "racial rebalancing"? Nope.

Are students getting rezoned based on their race? Nope.

It is up to the State Board of Education, then a federal judge...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It is up to the State Board of Education, then a federal judge...

A federal judge? Only if somebody files a lawsuit in federal court.

http://www.dsd.state.md.us/COMAR/SubtitleSearch.aspx?search=13A.01.05.*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is up to the State Board of Education, then a federal judge...

A federal judge? Only if somebody files a lawsuit in federal court.

http://www.dsd.state.md.us/COMAR/SubtitleSearch.aspx?search=13A.01.05.*

MCPS used FARMS rate to redistrict in Upcounty. The county-wide boundary analysis is focused on Ever-FARMS. FARMS rate is a good proxy for race in Montgomery County. Ever-FARMS is an even better one. With the number of lawyers living in this county, what do you think of the chance of this case reaching a federal court?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on. People are defending their constitutional rights. Have all of you read the appeal?

Which constitution grants them the right not to be reassigned to a different school within their school district?

Did you read the appeal?

The United States Supreme Court ruled that racial balancing is unconstitutional, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Well, it's a darn good thing MCPS didn't engage in racial balancing, then. Rather, they engaged in economic balancing while trying to maximize walkers.

This appeal will go nowhere, but the folks involved will be known as anti-integration types for as long as Google exists.

Have you read the appeal? In Montgomery County, 87% of FARMS students are Hispanic (55%) and African American (32%). When they balance out FARMS rates, there are not enough white and Asian FARMS students to be moved around. They must move Hispanic and African American students from high FARMS schools to low FARMS schools. This is exactly what they did in Clarksburg and Germantown. They moved Hispanic and African American students from Neelsville MS to Rocky Hill MS and white and Asian American students the other way. This is racial balancing. MCPS's own numbers prove it. The Superintendent may call it economic balancing but the effect is the same as racial balancing. This is using FARMS rate as a thinly-veiled proxy for race to do racial balancing. The 15-page pdf appeal goes into great detail.

I'm pretty sure that I read, in the appeal, that the areas that got reassigned are racially diverse. How can it be racial discrimination to reassign a racially-diverse area from one school to another?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is up to the State Board of Education, then a federal judge...

A federal judge? Only if somebody files a lawsuit in federal court.

http://www.dsd.state.md.us/COMAR/SubtitleSearch.aspx?search=13A.01.05.*

MCPS used FARMS rate to redistrict in Upcounty. The county-wide boundary analysis is focused on Ever-FARMS. FARMS rate is a good proxy for race in Montgomery County. Ever-FARMS is an even better one. With the number of lawyers living in this county, what do you think of the chance of this case reaching a federal court?

Using FARMS is perfectly legal. It would have been ILLEGAL to rezone specific kids, but they didn't. They rezoned entire schools. Folks can throw money at this, and they can accept "legal support" from PACs affiliated with white supremacist organizations, but they are spitting in the wind. They will lose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is up to the State Board of Education, then a federal judge...

A federal judge? Only if somebody files a lawsuit in federal court.

http://www.dsd.state.md.us/COMAR/SubtitleSearch.aspx?search=13A.01.05.*

MCPS used FARMS rate to redistrict in Upcounty. The county-wide boundary analysis is focused on Ever-FARMS. FARMS rate is a good proxy for race in Montgomery County. Ever-FARMS is an even better one. With the number of lawyers living in this county, what do you think of the chance of this case reaching a federal court?

If you want to pay a lawyer to take this case to federal court for you, or if you're a lawyer yourself and don't mind having a fool for a client, then go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is up to the State Board of Education, then a federal judge...

A federal judge? Only if somebody files a lawsuit in federal court.

http://www.dsd.state.md.us/COMAR/SubtitleSearch.aspx?search=13A.01.05.*

MCPS used FARMS rate to redistrict in Upcounty. The county-wide boundary analysis is focused on Ever-FARMS. FARMS rate is a good proxy for race in Montgomery County. Ever-FARMS is an even better one. With the number of lawyers living in this county, what do you think of the chance of this case reaching a federal court?

Using FARMS is perfectly legal. It would have been ILLEGAL to rezone specific kids, but they didn't. They rezoned entire schools. Folks can throw money at this, and they can accept "legal support" from PACs affiliated with white supremacist organizations, but they are spitting in the wind. They will lose.

Entire DIVERSE schools (or entire DIVERSE areas - since Cabin Branch does not yet have its own elementary school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for them. It seems like a long shot, but I'm glad to hear they're being proactive about it.

It seems like a long shot because it is, because it's absurd. There is no right to attend a school in your zip code.

-1

There's certainly a right not to be discriminated on the basis of race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for them. It seems like a long shot, but I'm glad to hear they're being proactive about it.

It seems like a long shot because it is, because it's absurd. There is no right to attend a school in your zip code.

-1

There's certainly a right not to be discriminated on the basis of race.

Fortunately, MCPS didn't do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for them. It seems like a long shot, but I'm glad to hear they're being proactive about it.

It seems like a long shot because it is, because it's absurd. There is no right to attend a school in your zip code.

-1

There's certainly a right not to be discriminated on the basis of race.

Ok, so make your case. MCPS rezoned specific schools and neighborhoods, because they were expanding a specific high school and wanted to maximize usage of all schools in that part of the county.

How do you draw the line between that and "discrimination based on race?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on. People are defending their constitutional rights. Have all of you read the appeal?

Which constitution grants them the right not to be reassigned to a different school within their school district?

Did you read the appeal?

The United States Supreme Court ruled that racial balancing is unconstitutional, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Well, it's a darn good thing MCPS didn't engage in racial balancing, then. Rather, they engaged in economic balancing while trying to maximize walkers.

This appeal will go nowhere, but the folks involved will be known as anti-integration types for as long as Google exists.

Have you read the appeal? In Montgomery County, 87% of FARMS students are Hispanic (55%) and African American (32%). When they balance out FARMS rates, there are not enough white and Asian FARMS students to be moved around. They must move Hispanic and African American students from high FARMS schools to low FARMS schools. This is exactly what they did in Clarksburg and Germantown. They moved Hispanic and African American students from Neelsville MS to Rocky Hill MS and white and Asian American students the other way. This is racial balancing. MCPS's own numbers prove it. The Superintendent may call it economic balancing but the effect is the same as racial balancing. This is using FARMS rate as a thinly-veiled proxy for race to do racial balancing. The 15-page pdf appeal goes into great detail.

I'm pretty sure that I read, in the appeal, that the areas that got reassigned are racially diverse. How can it be racial discrimination to reassign a racially-diverse area from one school to another?

It isn't and the appeal is a waste of time. It will be swiftly rejected.

[Anonymous]

Here's a good article back from when the 2007 Supreme Court case ruled on using race for school assignments. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Supreme-Court-Schools-can-t-use-race-to-assign-2584155.php


This ruling needs to be revisited IMO because in attempting to create a middle ground between promoting diversity and applying the equal protection clause to all races the court inadvertently threw school systems into an unsolvable legal conflict. School systems are expected to achieve desegregation while at the same time not using race as the factor to make changes that would desegregate. This had led school systems to try mechanisms that simply obfuscate their use of race which doesn't work because the school systems have to pull the racial data in order to evaluate whether their proxy mechanism to hide race worked to achieve their desired racial balancing. School systems like MCPS and others seem to have interrupted this as a wink wink situation where if they can find a slim thread to cover the use of race in the assignments then its OK -which does work in a court. Furthermore, school systems like MCPS that openly make statements such as focusing on groups of students defined by race do themselves no favor in later trying to claim that they did not use race. One thing that is consistent across liberal and conservative jurists is that any attempt to deceive the court is never accepted.

The court needs to either rule that in the pursuit of diversity it is not a violation of the equal protection act to determine school assignments (liberal/activist position) or that schools must be completely color blind in determining school assignments (conservative/strict constructivist).

[Anonymous]

MCPS and others seem to have interrupted this as a wink wink situation where if they can find a slim thread to cover the use of race in the assignments then its OK -which does work in a court.

Typo -does NOT work in a court.